1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of devices known as Hookahs otherwise known as water pipes or Nargiles. More specifically, the invention relates to a hookah comprising a main stem tube that branches off into various tubes to which various tobacco bowls are attached. The tobacco placed in the various tobacco bowls is heated with hot charcoals to create smoke that is blended within the main stem tube before it is directed into water in a container to be filtered and cooled so that it may be inhaled by the user. The tobacco bowls are properly spaced apart so that the heat radiating from the hot charcoals on each bowl do not affect the smoke created by the tobacco in another bowl and the user runs less risk of burning a hand by a hot charcoal on one bowl or destabilizing the bowls when changing the charcoal or tobacco on another bowl.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A hookah is a smoking device or a water pipe that has been used for centuries to smoke tobacco, mixtures of various herbs, or mixtures of both. The general concept of a hookah has been in existence for centuries with original popularity tracing back to Turkey around the years 1623-1640 where they became an important part of coffee shop culture and the preferred way of smoking tobacco. Generally, a hookah directs the smoke generated from the tobacco or herbs through water for cooling and filtration purposes. Undesirable smoke byproducts such as tar, oil, ashes, carbon monoxide, and the like are absorbed or separated in the water before the smoke is inhaled by the user.
Typically a hookah has a single tobacco bowl mounted at the top and a container at the bottom. The container is filled with water and a tubular hollow stem extends downward from the bowl into the container with its lowermost extremity immersed in the water. The body of the hookah is located directly above the container and has a hollow interior that forms a smoke chamber through which the hollow stem tube extends. A flexible hose is then connected to the smoke chamber and extends outward from the body of the hookah. Finally, a mouthpiece is attached at the distal end of the flexible hose through which the user can inhale the smoke.
Tobacco or herb is placed on the bowl. The bowl is then covered typically with a piece of foil paper having multiple holes. A piece of hot charcoal is then placed on top of the foil paper to heat the tobacco or herb within the bowl without making direct contact with the tobacco or herb. Direct contact between the hot charcoal and the tobacco or herb can lead to burning rather than heating or smoking. As the tobacco or herb is heated, it generates smoke. When the user inhales through the mouthpiece attached to the flexible hose, the smoke is drawn from the bowl through the stem tube and into the water. The smoke then passes upwards through the water in the form of bubbles and into the smoke chamber. When sufficient smoke is collected in the smoke chamber, it passes through the flexible hose to the user for inhalation. As the smoke is drawn through the water, it is filtered and cooled to make the smoking experience pleasant and enjoyable for the user.
The primary mechanism of a hookah is the inhalation of the human smoker from the mouthpiece to create the vacuum or negative pressure required to draw smoke through the filtering and cooling water into the smoke chamber. The vacuum or negative pressure in turn influences the combustion rate of the tobacco or herb. The flavors of the smoke from the tobacco can be influenced by the combustion rate.
Unlike smoke from hookah, smoke from cigarettes is filled with products of combustion, many of which are known carcinogens. Furthermore, smoking a hookah is preferred over smoking cigarettes or cigars because of the flavorful and cool taste of the smoke. Typical tobacco used with a hookah includes a mixture of shredded tobacco leaf mixed with a sweetener such as honey, molasses, or semi-dried fruit.
Most hookah tobaccos are mixed with tobacco flavors, such as, apple, strawberry, vanilla, mint, etc. Many hookah smokers prefer a combination or mixture of flavors, such as apple flavored tobacco mixed with strawberry flavored tobacco. Manufacturers of hookah tobacco have responded to this trend by offering tobacco that is pre-mixed with multiple flavors. However, the infinite mixtures of flavored tobacco makes it impossible for hookah tobacco manufacturers to offer every possible combination. As a result, hookah smokers often hand mix different types of flavored tobacco themselves to attain the mixed flavor of their liking. This technique of hand mixing different flavored tobacco is cumbersome and messy.
An alternative to hand mixing different flavored hookah tobacco is to use a multi-headed hookah bowl that is available in the marketplace. Double, triple, and quadruple headed hookah bowls are known in the marketplace. As shown in FIG. 7, such multi-headed hookah bowls are designed with multiple bowls arranged closely together and attached to a single outlet point that is directly connected to the single stem tube of a hookah. Each bowl can be filled with different flavored tobacco and heated with different charcoals. The smoke of the different flavored tobacco converge and mix at the single outlet point of the multi-headed bowl before it enters the stem tube of the hookah.
A disadvantage of multi-headed bowls is that the bowls are clustered too close to each other. The heat radiating from one charcoal on one bowl increases the heat exposure to other bowls, thus affecting the combustion rate of the tobacco in the other bowls. Therefore, such close proximity of bowls makes it very difficult to control the flavor of the smoke inhaled by the user of the hookah. In addition to the amount of different flavored tobacco in each head, the amount of heat radiating from each charcoal becomes another variable that the user of the hookah must control to be able to duplicate the desired flavor on a consistent basis.
Secondly, the multi-headed bowls are difficult to use because the weight placed on each bowl can tilt the entire unit in any one direction, especially as the charcoal and tobacco on one bowl burns faster than the charcoal and tobacco on another bowl. The weight variance on each bowl can tilt the entire unit to the point when the entire unit falls off the hookah. Additionally, as charcoal on one bowl is replaced or the tobacco in one bowl is refilled, the user can easily knock the entire unit off the stem of the hookah or burn a hand due to the close proximity to other hot charcoal on other bowls.
Thirdly, another disadvantage of the multi-headed bowls is the difficulty of controlling or fine-tuning the amount of smoke from each flavored tobacco in the final smoke mixture that is inhaled by the user of the hookah. Since the different flavored smoke from each bowl are mixed together at close proximity to their source, it is difficult to deviate from a mixture of equal parts of each flavored smoke. There is no mechanism for the user to control the amount of smoke of each tobacco added to the final mixture. Additionally, controlling the combustion rate and hence the amount and quality of smoke released by each tobacco is difficult due to the heat radiating from the other bowls that are close in proximity.
What is needed to overcome the various disadvantages evident in the prior art is a hookah or water pipe that has multiple independent bowls for different flavored tobacco with sufficient distance between them that the heat radiating from the charcoal on each bowl does not affect the combustion rate of the tobacco in the other bowls. Secondly, the hookah must allow the user to replace the charcoal or refill the tobacco in each bowl without affecting or disturbing the other bowls. Finally, the hookah would have a mechanism for the user to control the amount of flavored smoke released from each bowl so that the mixed smoke that is ultimately inhaled by the user can be fine-tuned to the desired flavor. Such a hookah would combine the advantages of the prior art while eliminating their various respective disadvantages. As will be seen, this improved hookah achieves these objectives and advantages with a minimum of functioning parts in a novel, nonobvious, and useful combination.